LONDON, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced a complete overhaul Friday of food labelling in Britain following the tragic death of teen Natasha Ednan-Laperouse.
The 15 year-old from London died in 2016 after suffering an allergic reaction to a baguette sandwich she bought at a branch of the popular food outlet Pret A Manger.
Gove said he proposes tougher food labelling laws for allergy sufferers to give consumers clearer information on the food people buy.
In a tribute to the teen's parents, who have campaigned for a change in the food labelling laws, Gove said: "Natasha's parents have suffered a terrible loss, and I want to pay tribute to Nadim and Tanya for their inspirational work to deliver Natasha's law."
"We want to ensure that labels are clearer and that the rules for businesses are more consistent so that allergy sufferers in this country can have confidence in the safety of their food," Gove added.
A consultation exercise launched Friday is expected to see food outlets selling pre-packaged food directly for sale required to follow new rules designed to give Britain's 2 million food allergy sufferers greater confidence in the safety of their food.
Under current rules, food prepared on the premises in which it is sold are not required to display allergen information on the package. The proposed rules could go as far as seeing full ingredients labelling required by law.
Food businesses and allergy sufferers are being given a say on four options put forward to improve the way allergy information is provided for consumers on food labels. One would make full ingredient list labelling mandatory by law.
Heather Hancock of the Foods Standards Agency said: "It's essential for those of us with a food allergy or intolerance to know that we can trust the food we eat. Accurate and reliable labelling is vital, and this consultation is firmly aimed at improving the confidence we have in it."
Carla Jones, CEO of the charity Allergy UK, said: "At Allergy UK we believe that whilst those living with allergies must be vigilant on their own behalf, the broader food industry needs to do more than just the bare minimum when it comes to catering for the allergic community. We encourage all those living with allergies to engage with this consultation to ensure their views on this important issue are heard."
